Prescription Drug Use Disorder Treatment in New York

Nearly 3 million citizens in New York experience substance use disorder (SUD), including prescription drug addiction and opioid addiction. Around 40.7% of those in treatment entered for opioid use disorder (OUD), which falls under prescription drug use disorder. Medications like oxycodone, vicodin, percocet, codeine, and other prescription opioids are powerful tools for pain relief but must be supervised to avoid prescription drug misuse.

Prescription drug rehab typically includes detoxification, managed care for withdrawal symptoms, and substance abuse treatment with options like naltrexone or naloxone for opiate addiction. Detox under medical supervision is crucial, especially for medications like stimulants (e.g., adderall and ritalin) or benzodiazepines (e.g., xanax and valium), due to their unique risks. The National Institute on Drug Abuse supports a clinical approach to these types of drugs, recognizing substance abuse treatment as essential for recovery.

Obviously, treating pain is necessary. Opioids are a collective tool in the fight against pain. Their use must be supervised by a physician or nurse practitioner. Even then, both the medical professional and the person taking the medication must be vigilant against signs of SUD. It must also be borne in mind that neither OUD nor any other form of SUD is a mental failing, moral failing, or lack of “willpower.” They are diseases and must be treated as such.

In much the same way as taking opioids must be supervised by a medical professional, so must OUD treatment, particularly if detox is determined to be necessary as part of the treatment plan. While such detox is seldom life-threatening, it still can be because of the dehydration that occurs from the vomiting and diarrhea that so often accompany opioid withdrawal. Therefore, you need medical supervision.

Antidepressant Treatment in New York

Understanding Prescription Drug Use Disorder

What Is It?

As with any substance use disorder (SUD), prescription drug use disorder involves using medications in ways not prescribed by a healthcare professional. People with prescription drug addiction may continue using despite severe health problems or impacts on well-being and daily life. This misuse is often chaotic and driven by increasing tolerance and cravings, eventually overriding medical advice, family support, and concerns about risk factors like elevated blood pressure and other mental health disorders. For many, prescription drug rehab becomes essential for recovery.

Contributing Factors

Aside from prolonged use and misuse of any kind, one of the biggest contributors to the development of SUD is precarious mental health. SUD develops much more often in populations of people with depressive disorder, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, or similar mental-health conditions. It’s also not uncommon for people with a previous physical trauma, which can include physical abuse experienced in childhood, to be predisposed to SUD. Obviously, chronic pain is also a potential trigger, but so are diseases such as cancer, kidney disease, and heart disease.

There must be a distinction, too, between SUD and dependency on the medication. For example, consider a person with chronic pain associated with a debilitating condition called idiopathic intracranial hypertension. The condition causes severe migraine headaches, back pain, and other kinds of pain, often to the point of making the person bedridden. Worse, the diagnostic treatments, such as lumbar puncture, can exacerbate the already-existing pain. It would not be unusual for a doctor to prescribe an opioid for pain relief.

Let’s say that the person takes the medication exactly as directed, doesn’t misuse it, and faithfully refills the prescription. It’s possible for the person’s body to become dependent on the medication to the point that stopping it would be unhealthy. The person has not misused the medication, however. This is the difference between dependency and misuse that leads to SUD.

Signs and Symptoms of SUD

There are two kinds of signs and symptoms: the ones you notice yourself and the ones that others notice about you. The ones you notice yourself can include:

  • Needing to use the substance more than prescribed
  • Thinking about the substance to the exclusion of other thoughts
  • Spending money on the substance irrespective of your other financial obligations
  • Doing things that are out of character, such as stealing or doing other risky things
  • Experiencing withdrawal when you don’t have the substance

While it’s possible for others to notice these things, too, the following items are the most commonly noticed by others:

  • The person looks slovenly.
  • The person misses school or work.
  • The person suddenly starts asking for money.
  • The person “looks like trash,” having red eyes, losing weight very quickly, or ceasing bathing, etc.
  • The person begins behaving in an irrational or aberrant manner, perhaps both.

In any of these cases, it’s possible that the person is experiencing SUD. Of course, it’s also possible that someone has just had a bad day or a bad week. The person could have had an influx of stressors. It’s imperative, though, that if you notice such things about someone, that you communicate with that person to determine what’s what. Likewise, if you notice these things in yourself, then you should discuss them with someone else. It’s never weak to ask for help. In fact, it takes great courage to do so in a society that teaches us “rugged individualism” at the expense of compassion, kindness, and/or empathy.

The Effects of SUD

Familial relationships will suffer. You might lose your job. You might go broke trying to pay for more and more of the substance. You could even wind up arrested if you steal to support your misuse of the substance. Remember, it’s important to realize that this is a disease. You’re not morally “unfit” if you experience SUD. Seeking treatment for it should be as normal as getting an antibiotic prescription for an infection after you cut your finger while cooking.

The long-term effects could be devastating too. With alcohol, for example, prolonged use can make it dangerous to try to stop. Delirium tremens, or “The DTs,” is no joke. Even with medically supervised treatment, 5% of people with the condition will die. With opioids and other prescription medications, detox is seldom that dangerous, but the long-term effects could be bad anyway. Permanent and irreversible brain chemistry changes are common, often manifesting themselves through personality changes. You could be “someone else” even if you achieve recovery and/or sobriety. Your relationships with family and friends could be completely different.

Legal Troubles

Aside from stealing to support the misuse of prescription medications, there are other legal issues you could face. “Doctor shopping,” for example, which is where you try to get “legitimate” prescriptions from more than one doctor at once, is illegal. “Knowing a guy” who sells you your substance illicitly is also a quagmire from which it could be difficult to extricate yourself were you to be arrested for such behavior.

Treatment Options

The modern trend when it comes to the treatment of substance use disorders, including OUD, is toward recovery rather than abstinence. In the past, punitive abstinence was the “go-to” method. Even so, up to 60% of people with SUD return to use at some point during their lives, clearly indicating at least a degree of correlation that the treatment is ultimately ineffective. In fact, the No. 1 preference of people who enter treatment is staying alive rather than being abstinent.

The idea behind medication-assisted treatment is to support the person through the use of drugs like methadone and/or buprenorphine. It’s a situation where the prescribed substance takes the place of the person’s chosen substance. The prescription to treat SUD is in the same category as taking a prescription for other conditions.

In addition to physical treatments to help your body deal with the SUD, mental-health treatments are necessary to teach both coping skills and other strategies for maintaining recovery throughout your life. SUD is, after all, a lifelong condition.

Conclusion

As stated, seeking help is a mark of great courage. At Mid Hudson Addiction Recovery, we’ve adopted a patient-centric approach to treatment through individual therapy, group therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Our tailored treatment programs ensure that you or your loved one receives the right kind of help for substance use disorders (SUDs), particularly prescription drug misuse. We offer both inpatient and outpatient treatment options, along with support groups and aftercare planning. When you’re ready to take the first step, contact us to set up an appointment with our rehab center in New York.